I was looking through the threads and it got me thinking about daycares. I had my daughter in a family daycare when she was born until she was about 7 months. It got me thinking about what was imortant to me when searching for a daycare. I was wondering what was on the top of other parent's lists as they search for a daycare. Here is what I chose. I looked for a place that had a small child to care-giver ratio. I wanted my child to still be in a nuturing environment. My daughter's daycare had lesson plans everyday for the older kids. No watching TV all day long! Ratio and lesson plans important....another thing I looked for was how well the caregivers did their job. I, of course, needed to get along with them. I needed to get to know them a little before hand,which was nice. Of course, the daycare needed to be licensed and close to where I worked. But what I really looked for in a daycare was cleanliness. How clean was the play area. I needed to know how often they sanitized the toys and changing area. What products they use,etc. It is surprising how many daycares do NOT consider this a big priority and we hear about accidental poisonings,alot of sickness etc. So it was important that my daughter's daycare used non-toxic chemicals. There are many products out there that would do the cleaning just as well as bleach. I know it is a little easier for in-home day cares then big facilities because of some of the regulations. I am wondering how many daycares use "green" products?
Here is some information to read and consider:
-Toxic Environment in Child Care Centers http://www.pfse.net/toxicenvironhazards1.doc

After reading this information, you decide cleaniless is important to you as well, there is a free online workshop about "Going Green". It is held on Saturdays. I can get you more information. Just pm me! Enjoy!